Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sometimes, we at IB face a dilemna: as a "family-friendly" blog, where do we draw the line between licentious and useful? For example, did you know that that which makes flatulence odoriferous (and the delight of 5th grade boys the world over) also serves a more noble bodily function?

Turns out, the gas is created by bacteria making its home in our digestive system, and that (according to new research) it helps regulate blood pressure by acting as a sort of "steam valve," much like the little gizmo on top of a pressure cooker. That gas, hydrogen sulfide, is responsible for the offending aroma.

The scary part, one supposes, comes from its potential application in medical tech. According to Dr Solomon Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, "(n)ow that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension.”

Well, it was only a matter of time that we'd get from medical marijuana to medicinal methane.

Sometimes, we at IB face a dilemna: as a "family-friendly" blog, where do we draw the line between licentious and useful? For example, did you know that that which makes flatulence odoriferous (and the delight of 5th grade boys the world over) also serves a more noble bodily function?

Turns out, the gas is created by bacteria making its home in our digestive system, and that (according to new research) it helps regulate blood pressure by acting as a sort of "steam valve," much like the little gizmo on top of a pressure cooker. That gas, hydrogen sulfide, is responsible for the offending aroma.

The scary part, one supposes, comes from its potential application in medical tech. According to Dr Solomon Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, "(n)ow that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension.”

Well, it was only a matter of time that we'd get from medical marijuana to medicinal methane.